Introduction to Cisco UCS-Server Configuration Utility

Overview

The Cisco UCS-SCU (Server Configuration Utility) is an application that helps you manage various tasks on your server. The utility helps you easily set up and manage your servers from a single application.

UCS-SCU is intended for system administrators responsible for upgrading, troubleshooting, and configuring the UCS C-Series server. As a system administrator, you can use it to view server inventory, configure the BIOS boot order, configure a RAID volume on attached hard drives, install an operating system, perform interactive offline diagnostics and view server health and logs.

UCS-SCU Features

UCS-SCU reduces the complexity and time associated with setting up and maintaining Cisco C-series servers. Server deployment is made easier. It guides you through questions to help quickly configure the server through automatic recognition of server hardware, with minimal reboots and an automated unattended operating system installation.

UCS-SCU is packaged onto a single CD which contains its own operating system (Linux), a GUI, and supporting files for setup and deployment. The utility can be booted off a CD (physical or vMedia) and runs completely in a RAMDISK.

These are the features introduced in UCS-SCU:

•Diagnostic Tools—Allows you to run various diagnostic tests to help identify sources of failure on your server. You can use new functionality like quick tests, comprehensive tests, quick tasks, tests suite and tests log summary to identify problems with your server. See Using UCS-Server Configuration Utility for details on using diagnostic tools.

–Server Configuration—Set the BIOS boot order and configure a RAID volume on attached hard drives of your server.

–OS Installation—Install the RHEL, SLES, and Windows operating systems in a fully unattended mode. The most recent drivers for all on-board components are added from the Tools and Drivers CD or from other supported locations during the operating system installation.

–Diagnostic Tools—Allow you to run various types of diagnostic tests to detect server failure.

–Server Health—View the health of the subsystems on your server like CPUs, memory, power supplies, fans, storage, PCI devices, BIOS and CIMC.

–Server Logs—View the System Log and System Event Log of your server.

New Features in SCU 2.1

These are the features that have been added in SCU 2.1:

•Support for all SCU and Interactive Offline Diagnostic features on UCS C200 M2(SFF) and UCS C460 M2.